Abraham Abell (11 April 1782 – 12 February 1851) was an Irish

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic si ...

Early career

Abell was born in

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

on 11 April 1782, into a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

family of eleven children. His family had long standing in business. He also was successful in business and noted for his charity. He served as treasurer of the Cork Dispensary and Humane Society.Coleman, James. "Abraham Abbal", ''The Irish Monthly'', Vol. 26, 1898
/ref> He died on 12 February 1851. Death of Abraham Abell on 12d 2mo (Feb) 1851; citing Cork MM Family lists 1671-1872, Religious Society Of Friends In Ireland Archives.

Cultural interests

He had a great interest in

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

and did a study of the

Irish Round Tower Irish round towers ( (singular), (plural); Literal translation, literally 'bell house') are early medieval stone towers of a type found mainly in Ireland, with two in Scotland and one on the Isle of Man. As their name indicates, they were ori ...

. He was responsible for the first collection of

Ogham Ogham (also ogam and ogom, , Modern Irish: ; , later ) is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the early Irish language (in the "orthodox" inscriptions, 4th to 6th centuries AD), and later the Old Irish language ( scholastic ...

stone inscriptions and his collection is now on public display at

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

. He had a major collection of books. He was a member of the

Royal Cork Institution Royal Cork Institution was an Irish cultural institution in the city of Cork from 1803 to 1885. It consisted of a library of scientific works, a museum with old Irish manuscripts and stones with ogham inscriptions, and lecture and reading rooms. ...

and one of the founders in 1835 of the

Cuvierian Society The Cuvierian Society of Cork was founded as a committee of the Royal Cork Institution in October 1835. The meetings were held on the first Wednesday of the Autumn and Winter months in the Library of the Royal Cork Institution. The Society was n ...

. This was the forerunner of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society. At the time of his death, Abell's personal library contained about 4,500 volumes, including books written in

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, and Irish.

References

Sources

* * 1782 births 1851 deaths 19th-century Irish archaeologists Scholars and academics from County Cork Burials in County Cork {{Archaeologist-stub